My Piece of Cake: Letter to Kapamilya Foncy from Kapamilya Jan on Pacman

I received a series of texts today from a friend from Mindanao (I don't know whether he's in Davao, Koronadal, CDOC/Bukidnon)--an online friend from Kapamilya_ABS-CBN since 2003, whom we will call Kapamilya Foncy. He likes cartoons (mostly Asian cartoons or anime) and Asian drama-comedies (one of them Meteor Garden). The common denominator besides both of us as Kapamilyas: we like cartoons (anime or Western-made) and Meteor Garden. And one of our fave characters in Meteor Garden: Ching Her (the funny amusing sidekick and childhood friend of Shan Cai)! But we never met personally-I am in Metro Manila, he's in Mindanao. I hope for the day when we will get to meet.

Back to the texts I got from Foncy--he is bothered with GMA covering Pacman-Solis and not ABS-CBN. I think you're also bothered with that, like Foncy. In an attempt to ease the botherings, I post here my email to Foncy. (I told Foncy to wait for my email--responding to his texts will cut me a lot of cellphone load.)
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To Ching Her-Foncy,

Maayong adlaw sa imo, Bai! I hope you can take time to read my message. Here's the story, as I see it.

In each of Pacman's fights, anyone is welcome to cover. It's just that Solar Sports, being a popular sports-only TV channel in the Philippines, gets the rights to showcase Pacman's fights on TV most of the time. Most of the time, Solar invited RPN to air the matches on free TV (since Solar is a cable TV channel-only those with cable TV's can watch the fights if it's exclusively aired on Solar Sports).

In late 2005, Solar invited ABS-CBN to cover Pacman's 2nd fight with Erik Morales for a change, instead of RPN. At that time, ABS-CBN's Sports Department is focused on covering the basketball games of the PBA, PBL (which will be covered by Solar Sports starting this year), NCAA and UAAP and other sports events as covered in the sports shows of ABS-CBN's media channels. Seeing the fight as a welcome addition to the projects of the network's Sports Department, ABS-CBN accepted the invitation.

Seeing the power of ABS-CBN in covering Pacman-Morales II, the Sports Department quickly made a deal with Pacman on covering Pacman-Larios in Manila (the first time an international boxing event taking place in the Philippines since the Ali-Frazier match in 1973) and later Pacman-Morales III. No problem seen at all. Solar seemed to bide its time for an opportunity.

Then, there's Pacman-Solis. Having not covered Pacman-Larios and Pacman-Morales III, Solar Sports quickly talked with Pacman, who later contacted the ABS-CBN Sports people.

Actually, ABS-CBN Sports got the rights for the Moment of Truth-Battle of Cebu (which was still talked about in the boxing world), Gerry Penalosa-Daniel Ponce de Leon/Barrera-Marquez (talked about until now) and Boom Boom Bautista-Sergio Medina/Oscar dela Hoya-Floyd Mayweather (larger, more world-class and more spectacular than Pacman's fights as boxing experts say). And ABS-CBN still has many other projects to mind, among them the most high-tech election coverage Halalan 2007-Boto Mo I-Patrol Mo (because it will involve election-related reports sent from millions of people's cellphones)! ABS-CBN has to think on Pacman-Solis. Estimating its budget, the network initially offered P10 million.

With Pacman running in Halalan 2007 as competitor to Congresswoman Darlene Antonino Custodio in South Cotabato, he naturally needs money to sustain his election campaign, much to the dismay of his ma. Pacman has to think.

So the Pacman's offer: P40 million. Solar Sports said: Deal! ABS-CBN said: No Deal.

And for a change, Solar Sports invited GMA to cover the fight on free TV. GMA jumped the gun and said: Deal!

Here are more articles on this.
Manny Pacquiao Portal
Bleacher Talk
Manny Pacquiao Boxing Champ
Isyusero
ABS-CBN Versus GMA

ABS-CBN fanatics have no choice but to catch the news on Pacman's fight with Jorge Solis over TV Patrol, unless ABS-CBN plans to chronicle the fight in one way or another.

So, just calm down, bai. One song says, "The best things are yet to come...And somewhere down the road..." Win or lose via his fight with Jorge Solis on GMA and with Ms. Custodio on Halalan 2007, I hope the next Pacman fight will be on ABS-CBN-that's the time I can say Deal.

Well, what a long explanation! I hope that clears up your mind. Should you have anything to say or ask, please email me/text me ASAP.

See you around Ching Her-Foncy!

Yours,
Ching Her-Jan
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If and when I will meet Kapamilya Foncy, I say Deal.

My Piece of Dessert: Boxing Bouts and Sports Events on ABS-CBN

On the Manny Pacquiao-Jorge Solis boxing match over GMA: I'm sure; the people there @ EDSA-Timog want revenge after their Sunday shows get Splat every time there is a Manny Pacquiao boxing match on ABS-CBN. And yes, what source of pride (and joy) and even arrogance and spite (to ABS-CBN) they will have once the Pacman-Solis fight made a record at the AGB-NMR Mega Manila ratings charts they highly regarded. It's possible the match may make a ratings record for GMA-but something to surpass the triple record victories of Pacman's fights (viewed over ABS-CBN) at AGB-NMR nationwide ratings charts-that I do not have to pay attention. (Pacman or not, boxing matches on ABS-CBN have become memorable-the Cebu boxing matches of unknown Pinoy boxers last Feb 2K6 were still much talked about now in the boxing world.)

Ah, why do some people regard TV shows of today as high or low as only per the ratings and not by one's personal assessment of how good is the quality of entertainment/ information the shows offer? Example: Low (single-digit) ratings are recorded for the ABS-CBN Saturday comedy show Let's Go-but this has been one of my weekend favorites because it's youth-oriented comedy dealing with real life on college, a first in ABS-CBN! I don't focus on the ratings. It was in the previous years (when I first joined the Yahoo Group Kapamilya_ABS-CBN) that I am excited whenever there are ratings charts and ABS-CBN wins eventually in the charts (in Mega Manila). But those days have just faded, as GMA wins in the Mega Manila ratings charts. Although there are now AGB-NMR nationwide ratings charts where ABS-CBN wins, I'm not very keen or detailed anymore on giving myself time for that.

Going back--although ABS-CBN never got the deal for the Pacman-Solis fight, they got the rights to cover the matches Marco Antonio Barrera-Juan Manuel Marquez (yes, yes, yes) and Gerry Penalosa-Daniel Ponce De Leon (a big YES-go Gerry-be happy to be Noypi)! And as the boxing experts might say, ABS-CBN caught a big fish in getting the rights to cover the match Oscar De la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather by May 5.

Here's the way I see it: in covering sports events ABS-CBN makes the people feel that the sports event is very important, as our own athletes need the citizens' support. It was time immemorial since ABS-CBN was at the forefront of covering sports events-from the 1968 Mexico City Olympics to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and now with Pacman's boxing bouts and the Studio 23-UAAP basketball games. I sense ABS-CBN has found value in covering sports events and broadcasting over ABS-CBN Manila. ABS-CBN has devoted most of its time and resources (and even its talents and connections) to bring sports events it deemed newsworthy to the people.

Why not the La Salle-Ateneo UAAP basketball game this year on ABS-CBN? (Yes, DLSU is back-with a vengeance!)

And win or lose, Pacman might eventually deal with ABS-CBN with his next boxing match after Mr. Solis and his election match with South Cotabato's lady lawmaker Ms. Custodio. I sense Pacman needs money to finance his campaign. (With Pacman's announcement of his candidacy, I almost shouted Takbo Vilma Dali after brilliant actress-turned-Mayor Vi announced her gubernatorial candidacy in Batangas-and I hope she, her husband-Senator Ralph Recto and her brother-in-law Ricky are now in good terms.)

As long as the boxing matches and even other sports events are on ABS-CBN: I say Deal.